English

Proper noun

Alexander

1. A male given name, most famously held by Alexander the Great.
   • 1594, William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: Act V, Scene I:

     Why may not imagination trace the noble dust of Alexander, till he find it stopping a bung-hole?

   • 1765 Laurence Sterne: Tristram Shandy, Book IV, Chapter 18:

     And for my own part, said my uncle Toby, though I should blush to boast of myself, Trim - yet had my name been Alexander, I could have done no more at Namur than my duty.

   • 1985 Anne Tyler, The Accidental Tourist, ISBN 0-7011-2986-7, page 170:

     "My son's name is Alexander," Muriel said. "Did I tell you that? I named him Alexander because it sounded high-class.

2. A patronymic surname​.

Derived terms

Related terms

• Alexandra and its variants
• shorter forms such as Alex or Xander

Translations

Noun

Alexander ‎(plural Alexanders)

1. Alternative letter-case form of alexander

Danish

Proper noun

Alexander

1. A male given name, cognate to English Alexander.

Related terms

• (male given names:) Alex
• (female forms:) Alexandra, Sandra, Sascha

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˌalɛˈksandɐ]
• Hyphenation: A‧le‧xan‧der

Proper noun

Alexander

1. A male given name, cognate to English Alexander.

Related terms

• (male given names:) Sandro, Sascha
• (female names:) Alexandra, Sandra

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɒlɛksɒndɛr]
• Hyphenation: Ale‧xan‧der

Proper noun

Alexander

1. A male given name.

Declension

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈaːlɛksantɛ(ː)r/

Proper noun

Alexander m

1. A male given name, cognate to English Alexander.

Declension

Related terms

• variants: Alex
• female forms: Alexandra, Sandra

Latin

Etymology

From Ancient Greek Ἀλέξανδρος ‎(Aléxandros), from ἀλέξω ‎(aléxō, “I defend”) + ἀνδρός ‎(andrós), genitive of ἀνήρ ‎(anḗr, “man”).

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /a.lekˈsan.der/, [a.ɫɛkˈsan.dɛr]

Proper noun

Alexander m ‎(genitive Alexandrī); second declension

1. A masculine praenomen.

Declension

Second declension, nominative singular in -er.

¹May also be Alexandre.

Descendants

References

• Alexander in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Norwegian

Alternative forms

• Aleksander

Proper noun

Alexander

1. A male given name, cognate to English Alexander.

Related terms

• (male given names:) Sander
• (female names:) Alexandra, Sandra

References

• Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 9 615 males with the given name Alexander living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1980s. Accessed on 19 May, 2011.

Scots

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈalɛksandər]

Proper noun

Alexander

1. A male given name

Derived terms

• (diminutive) Aleck, Eck, Eckie, Sandy, Saundy, Sawnie, Sawney, Sanders, Saunders, Sannock, Sannag, Sannagie

See also

• Elshinner
• Alistair

Slovak

Proper noun

Alexander m

1. A male given name.

Swedish

Etymology

Cognate with English Alexander. First recorded in Sweden (Scania) in 1201.

Proper noun

Alexander

1. A male given name.

Related terms

• (male given names) Alex
• (female names) Alexandra, Sandra
• (surnames) Alexandersson

References

• Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, ISBN 91-21-10937-0
• Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, ISBN 9119551622: 70 150 males with the given name Alexander living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1990s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

English

Noun

alexander ‎(plural alexanders)

1. A cocktail made of cognac or gin, white crème de cacao, and light cream.